Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 357: May the Talented Wu Give Birth to a Son Soon (Part )

In the darkness of night, the carriage swayed slowly towards Prince Jin's Mansion.

Li Zhi leaned back in the carriage, looking ahead, motionless.

His eyes were full of indifference.

The emperor has begun to gradually transfer power to the crown prince.

The prince also used the emperor to gradually gain control of the world.

The tacit agreement they gave each other was ten years, after which the emperor would abdicate and become the retired emperor.

The emperor no longer had any other thoughts about the crown prince succeeding to the throne.

The prince will be his only heir.

Not Li Zhi.

Yes, Li Xiang is already the crown prince, how could the emperor still think of deposing the prince?

But can they really complete the transfer of power smoothly?
Do they really trust each other that much?
Isn’t the emperor afraid that the prince will suddenly lose patience and force his way into the throne?
Isn’t the prince afraid that the emperor will suddenly want to replace him as the crown prince?
Li Zhi clenched his fists tightly.

He had never imagined that there was such a tacit understanding between his father and his brother...

Li Zhi was slightly stunned. Do they really have such a tacit understanding?
These words were told to him by his uncle.

And the uncle's purpose was naturally as he said at the end, that he hoped Li Zhi could be at ease as a governor in the local area for the rest of his life.

Perhaps, those words were made up by his uncle to deceive him.

Li Zhi closed his eyes gently, his mind full of thoughts.

There must be a tacit understanding between my father and my brother, but this tacit understanding may not be the ten years that my uncle mentioned.

With my father's health, can he last another ten years?
Five years is the maximum.

The emperor can wait for five years, but he can’t wait for ten years.

Li Zhi's heart suddenly calmed down.

In other words, my uncle and father both believed that my father could hold on for another five years without any problem.

As for five years from now, every year we can hold on is a good one.

Li Zhi raised his head. He had to break the tacit understanding between his father and his brother.

He needs to let his father live for a long time.

No, I want my father to think that he can live longer.

Let the emperor's brother think that his father can live longer, then make him lose patience and finally cause chaos.

Li Zhi smiled gently.

He didn't need his royal brother to actually cause chaos, it was enough to make his father think that his royal brother would cause chaos.

Then he killed his elder brother in the name of his father, and finally took his elder brother's head to force his father to abdicate and become the emperor, and passed the throne to him.

"Huh!" Li Zhi was slightly stunned. Why did all this feel so familiar?
"Hahaha!" Li Zhi suddenly burst into laughter.

Soon, Li Zhi's laughter subsided, but the smile on his face never faded.

Until I returned home.

"Your Highness, there is a letter from the palace." Ji Jiafu whispered in Li Zhi's ear.

Li Zhi's expression suddenly became serious.

……

In the study, Li Zhi placed a secret note on the candle and lit it gently, then watched it burn into ashes bit by bit and slowly fall into the brazier.

A cup of water was poured directly from above, scattering the ashes.

Mix it with the remaining ashes in the brazier.

Li Zhi raised his head and looked at Ji Jiafu. "My brother met with the envoy from Goguryeo a few days ago, then entered the palace through Xuanwu Gate and headed to Liangyi Hall. However, on the way, my brother met Prince Cao, who advised him to study hard and guard the area for our father in the future."

"Your Highness, the prince is trying to win people's hearts." Ji Jiafu looked at Li Zhi, his gaze drifting towards the East Palace, his eyes full of resentment.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "My royal brother is hypocritical and has always acted this way. Unfortunately, not only does my father not see through it, but my uncle also cannot see through it and even wants to pass the throne to my royal brother in the future."

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu nodded in agreement.

"But my brother's hypocrisy is not without effect." Li Zhi shook his head slightly. Even if the emperor believes that he has ten years left to live, he still needs to start thinking about his affairs after his death.

The throne is just one of them, there are also the many children born to the emperor.

The Crown Prince treated Prince Cao this way, and he also had a good relationship with Prince Zhao and was friendly with Prince Ji...

Damn it! Li Zhi clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, saying, "My brother has already started showing filial piety many years ago."

Ji Jiafu was slightly stunned, and when he understood what Li Zhi said, his face instantly turned gloomy.

"If the Crown Prince was truly filial and respectful, then why would the King of Wei be forced to rebel?" Ji Jiafu looked at Li Zhi and asked, "Your Highness, why can't His Majesty see through this?"

"Father naturally has a lot on his mind." Li Zhi shook his head and chuckled softly, "Among your legitimate sons, only my brother and I are left. If you depose my brother and enthronize me, Father will naturally have to consider other factors. For example, my brother already has five sons and one daughter, and the Crown Prince's wife Zhang Xuan is pregnant with another. If I succeed to the throne..."

If Li Zhi succeeded to the throne, he would probably not only kill Li Chengqian, but also kill all of Li Chengqian's sons and daughters.

The emperor himself is the most obvious example of this.

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the emperor killed all the descendants of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

All emperors are like this, so how could he not worry that Li Zhi would follow his example?

Moreover, compared to the Crown Prince who had five or six children, Li Zhi didn't even have one...

"Damn it." Li Zhi suddenly cursed angrily.

He suddenly thought of three years ago.

At that time, he almost married the daughter of Taiyuan Wang as his princess, but the prince said that older women were easier to bear children, so he married Zhao... Oh, that's not right, Taiyuan Wang's daughter is not pregnant now.

This time, the pregnant Crown Prince's concubine Zhang entered the Eastern Palace a year earlier than Li Zhi's wedding.

In other words, the prince was right, older women are indeed easier to give birth to.

Zhao, if that’s the case, it will be soon.

Offspring, offspring.

Li Zhi raised his head, looked at Ji Jiafu, and said, "Tomorrow, Madam Yingshan will go to see Consort Wu, right?"

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu bowed and said, "Guo Xiaoshen has sent me news. It will be tomorrow."

"Let him bring something to Lady Wu." Li Zhi waved his hand and Ji Jiafu came over.

Li Zhi whispered a few words in his ear, and Ji Jiafu's eyes lit up instantly.

……

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Inner Guest House.

Wu Meiniang looked at her mother, who was wearing a purple skirt and a head full of gold ornaments, and looked elegant, and said helplessly: "Mother, there is no need for you to enter the palace in such a grand manner."

"What's wrong with that? After all, you are the emperor's mother-in-law. Dressing better will only give you face." Lady Yang, the wife of Duke Yingshan, looked around.

Wu Meiniang sat behind a bamboo curtain, flanked by her personal palace maids.

Yang sat on the left side outside the pearl curtain, with Wu Shun and Wu Yi standing behind her. Wu Yuanqing was still standing obediently at the gate of the courtyard.

There were no outsiders in the entire courtyard.

Yang then looked at Wu Meiniang and asked, "Meiniang, mother knows that you are now serving His Majesty personally, but why is it that you are still a concubine, and His Majesty has not said when you will be promoted to a higher rank?"

"Mother!" Wu Meiniang glanced at Yang Shi with a mixture of shame and annoyance, then said unhappily, "There are rules and regulations for everything done in the palace. You can't just get promoted just by saying so."

"Oh!" Yang snorted coldly and said, "Mother knows as much about the palace rules as you do."

Yang's father, Yang Da, was not only a member of the former Sui royal family and Marquis of Shi'an Gong, but also the Minister of Works, the Minister of Justice, and the Prime Minister.

His elder brother, Prince Guan Yang Xiong, was even more famous.

When Yang was born, the world was still in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

When she grew up, it happened to be the period when Yang Jian and Yang Guang ruled the Sui Dynasty at its most powerful.

How could she not understand these things?

Matters in the harem are nothing more than a word from the emperor.

"Mother, please stop talking." Wu Meiniang looked at her mother with a pleading face.

"Okay." Yang waved her hand and stopped talking. She turned to look at Wu Yi and said, "I've been able to live comfortably these past two years, thanks to your third sister and her husband. They gave mother a lot of gifts and even bought land near Chang'an to support her. You should thank them."

It is not easy to live in Chang'an.

Even though Yang was from the Hongnong Yang family and had a noble status, she was still short of money.

So, Wu Yi persuaded her to come and see Wu Meiniang this time, and she came, and took the opportunity to see her daughter who was following the emperor and had recently gained favor.

"Sister!" Wu Meiniang looked at Wu Yi, her face couldn't help but darken slightly.

Wu Yi quickly smiled and said, "All of this is thanks to my brother-in-law. He has now been transferred to the post of Left Street Envoy of the Left Jinwu Guard. Everything is taken care of by my brother-in-law."

"Don't listen to their nonsense." Wu Shun said, looking at Wu Meiniang, "My husband was able to be transferred to the Left Street Envoy of the Left Jinwu Guard, a position below the sixth rank, thanks to the help of the Wei family. We should thank them."

"So that's how it is." Wu Meiniang lowered her head slightly.

"Nothing." Wu Yi handed a long black box with gold threads to Wu Meiniang and said, "Everything is thanks to my second sister. My husband asked me to bring this to my second sister."

"Yes!" Wu Meiniang turned sideways and looked at the maid beside her, who immediately stepped forward to take it.

At this moment, Yang suddenly stood up, looked at Wu Meiniang and said, "We have seen everyone, and everyone is fine. So we should leave now."

"Mother!" The three sisters Wu Shun, Wu Meiniang and Wu Yi all looked at their mother in surprise.

Yang looked up at Wu Meiniang and said seriously, "Meiniang, the palace is dangerous, and mother knows it best. So when you act in the palace, you should put yourself first and don't worry about anything else... Only outside the palace, the Hongnong Yang family can protect them."

"Yes!" Wu Meiniang's face was immediately filled with gratitude.

"go!"

……

In Wanchun Palace, Wu Meiniang sat on the bed and couldn't help but sigh.

Prince Jin, Prince Jin, he was really trying to find his own weakness.

Wu Meiniang raised her hand and opened the box.

Several things immediately caught my eye.

Red dates, peanuts, longan, lotus seeds.

Four things.

Only four.

Wu Meiniang was stunned, and then a sentence suddenly appeared in her mind.

Give birth to a son early.

A nameless anger suddenly rose in Wu Meiniang's heart, and she gritted her teeth and wanted to overturn the box.

At this moment, Zhang Ananda's voice rang out from outside the palace: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

Wu Meiniang's hand suddenly paused, and then she gently closed the lid.

(End of this chapter)